Lockdown Should Be Last Resort, Says PM Narendra Modi
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ruled out imposing a nationwide lockdown amid surging Covid cases. Mr Modi made it clear that a nationwide lockdown was off the table for now. “For some weeks the situation was in control. We were just recovering from the first wave. But then the second wave has come like a storm,” said the PM “I feel the pain of all those who have lost a loved one. The challenge is big but we must cross this with determination and resolve.”
Addressing the nation on Tuesday evening, PM Modi said that the situation this year was different than the last time when the country has little experience of tackling such a pandemic. Stating in his address that lockdowns should now be the last resort to deal with the crisis, the PM, however, stressed upon the need to fight the second wave of COVID-19 together and with “all our might”. He called on the countrymen to follow discipline and adhere to COVID-19 protocols. Further, PM Modi called on the state governments to help migrant workers in this hour of need and also appealed to the workers not to leave for native places. He said states should use lockdown as a ‘last resort’ and the focus should be micro-containment zones.
Referring to the shortage of oxygen, medicines being reported by several states, PM Modi said that the pharma sector has increased the production of medicines, adding that several new oxygen plants have been set up in many states and the government is working round the clock to ensure oxygen supply to everyone in need.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the second wave of the coronavirus had hit India like a storm but urged states to use lockdowns as the last resort. He also stressed on voluntary Covid discipline, urging people to go out only if necessary. “States should use the lockdown as the last resort – our focus should be micro-containment zones. We will take care of economic health as well as the health of countrymen,” PM Modi said, addressing the nation.
PM Modi’s addressing came after a series of meetings he had with various stakeholders since yesterday amid a spurt of Covid cases across the country. Today, he interacted with vaccine manufactures. India registered 1,761 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours, the biggest one-day spike, and over 2.59 lakh new cases. The total number of cases, which shows a worrying rise in the second wave of the pandemic, now stands at more than 1.53 crore.
This is the third straight day that the country has reported over two lakh cases. India is second only to the United States in the total number of cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic.
